There's little question fruits and veggies are best enjoyed in-season, picked close to home -- and we are so very lucky to raise irresistibly juicy, luscious strawberries here. At the farmers market last Sunday, my husband spent just eight bucks for a flat of the prettiest strawberries you'll ever find. The luckiest among us can pick them straight out of our gardens.

They're delicious out of hand, of course, but there are plenty of other ways to deploy that strawberry goodness. A number of you shared your favorite recipes; I've included just a few with this column.

(Randall Benton / The Sacramento Bee)

First, we all probably need a good strawberry pie recipe. That's a classic, right? Alice Brydon of Danville recommends the recipe she cut out of "an unknown newspaper over 20 years ago." Brydon's recipe covers the bottom of a baked pie shell with a layer of cream cheese, and she thinks that helps keep the crust from becoming soggy.

"It is my favorite strawberry recipe," she says, "because most of the berries are not cooked and still retain that fresh tangy flavor."

Jo Ann Lawlor of San Jose figures she's sending her favorite recipe back home again. She clipped it from the Mercury News about 30 to 35 years ago, and it has resided in her "good old metal recipe box" ever since. If you've let berries go a little past their prime, Lawlor says they'll work well in her fresh strawberry nut bread.

Advertisement

Who isn't tempted to nibble on bread when it comes out of the oven? In this case, it's best to resist. After the strawberry nut bread cools, wrap it in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and let it mellow for 24 hours. "Do not skip the mellowing step," Lawlor says. "It's bland and kind of nothing-y without the mellowing."

After 24 hours, the bread is tasty on its own or you can spread slices, with soft cream cheese or sweetened whipped cream, topped with sliced ripe strawberries.

Finally, Jo Anna Watt offers a quick solution for strawberry jam lovers who don't want to fool with traditional canning. Her microwave strawberry jam only takes six minutes. Of course, you'll want to watch the jam; as we've learned from previous microwave recipes, wattages vary, and some microwaves cook faster than others. You're looking for that nice, slightly loose jam consistency. Or at least that's the way I enjoy my jam.

Plates readers sent so many wonderful strawberry recipes. I'll try to share more at another time.

Tamale trips

Maggie Keeler needn't head to Arizona for the green corn tamales she craves, but a road trip might be in order, says Kathy Morales of Mountain View. "In the Los Angeles area, El Cholo serves the best green corn tamales from May through October in their restaurants," she says. "They are also available (via) mail order from El Cholo year-round." You can find the restaurant at www.elcholo.com. You'll pay a premium, but it's a bit cheaper than the road-trip gas. The tamales are $42 a dozen plus shipping.

Request line

My friend Claire Kania of Fremont knows just what she wants to do with strawberries, but she's missing a key element. "I'm searching for a tried and true recipe," she says, "for the most perfect, flaky, wonderful biscuits for strawberry shortcake."

Jean McGill of Sunnyvale thinks we all should be preparing for cucumber season. She wonders why today's home-canned dill pickles aren't quite like the pickles she remembers. "Years ago, we would can dill pickles, and after processing, they would become crispy," she says. "Our dill pickles have lost their crispiness."

McGill wonders if the problem lies in the water or the technique. She mentioned something about the use of grape leaves in the old days vs. powdered alum these days, and this was news to me. Grape leaves contain an enzyme that prevents softening, so canners would add a grape leaf to each jar. McGill hopes "dill pickle connoisseurs" will share their tips.